How much water do you drink a day?

[Rugby88]

I know everyone knows this but since increasing my water intake some around 2-3L a day to 4.5-6L I feel so much better, look so much better and never get bloated like I used to when I didnt drink much water.

So as I said I drink between 4.5-6L a day - just normal water, nothing added to it or anything.

[Fadi]

I know everyone knows this but since increasing my water intake some around 2-3L a day to 4.5-6L I feel so much better, look so much better and never get bloated like I used to when I didnt drink much water.

So as I said I drink between 4.5-6L a day - just normal water, nothing added to it or anything.

Please note that too much salt will/can kill you and too much water will/can also kill you. The body is always working at maintaining homeostasis. Drink too much water and don't balance it with enough sodium and you'll end up with hyponatremia, a state where too much water in your body begins to dilute the serum (blood) sodium and has nothing to do with sodium deficiency.

Sure, the body does its magic in steps and there would be warning signs to alert you of an oncoming danger. These messages may be passed on as muscle cramps (yes muscle cramps is not always due to dehydration or too much sodium concentration in the blood or an electrolyte imbalance); dizziness may be another sign (which is not always related to low blood pressure though one can be suffering from low blood pressure due to the first cause which is too much water and on and on).

The moral of the story and what I would recommend is balance instead of excess in anything, lest you throw your system way off track.

PS: just as there is a condition called hyponatremia, there’s also the opposite condition called hypernatremia where there’s too much salt intake and not enough water --- balance is best!

Joel, thank you for starting what I would consider an important thread/subject.


Fadi.

[Bazza20]

I just drink when I'm thirsty. Don't see the point in forcing extra water down.

[candyflip]

This one really perplexes me.

My entire family have never been water drinkers. All through my childhood, I would be lucky to drink a glass of water per week. Instead, we drank 3 cups of tea a day, and lots of weak cordial. Later on I developed a taste for Orange Tang (you'd have to do a Google search I think) and had that each night after school. Otherwise, I lived on Cottees cordial and tea. Zero water

As I grew up and entered into the late 80's and early 90's, the water craze started to take hold. Very large multi-national soft drink manufacturers with huge new interests in water companies, started blitzing the media that 'water was king' for healthy diets and that none of us drank enough of the stuff. Pretty soon, everyone was carrying these water bottles around (a craze that has never stoppped).

I have read the science on all this over the years and of course, and I can see why an intake of water is essential. But, how much more than what your diet already naturally provides from food and other drinks (ie. what your body is telling you to take in, over your belief of what you need) does one actually require?

I've been healthy, fit and muscular all my life - before, during and after water supplementation. Do I REALLY need to drink 4 litres supplementary a day because apparently, none of us drink enough?

[Bazza20]

I've been healthy, fit and muscular all my life - before, during and after water supplementation. Do I REALLY need to drink 4 litres supplementary a day because apparently, none of us drink enough?

No you don't. It's just the in thing to do these days.

If your thirsty have a drink. No need to overcomplicate it.

[Rugby88]

You should not wait till your thirsty to drink water.....

A normal everyday person should drink 1-2L of water a day regardless of exercise or anything.

[Goosey]

No you don't. It's just the in thing to do these days.

If your thirsty have a drink. No need to overcomplicate it.

We eat too much and drink too much.

Our existence is similar to that as rat kept in a laboratory.

[Goosey]

You should not wait till your thirsty to drink water.....

A normal everyday person should drink 1-2L of water a day regardless of exercise or anything.

So don't listen to your body, listen to what someone tells you.

[TheGiftToLift]

uhhh... your body causes swelling and head aches and period pain etc etc, and we can avoid those thanks to the wonders of modern science. Your body also in all its wisdom causes your teeth (called wisdom teeth) to grow farkin sideways...

such a weird trend nowadays where people seem to think scientists, chemicals, unnatural things, etc are bad... umm we used to have a life expectancy of around 30-40 years before modern medicine. We can now clone animals, create antibodies, anti-virals, replace hearts, transplant organs, etc etc... Osmolarity, dissolved solutes/salts, water balance... these aren't abstract concepts.

[Goosey]

uhhh... your body causes swelling and head aches and period pain etc etc, and we can avoid those thanks to the wonders of modern science. Your body also in all its wisdom causes your teeth (called wisdom teeth) to grow farkin sideways... I'll listen to modern medicine, not some broscientist or my body's thirst or hunger signals...

such a weird trend nowadays where people seem to think scientists, chemicals, unnatural things, etc are bad... umm we used to have a life expectancy of around 30-40 years before modern medicine. We can now clone animals, create antibodies, anti-virals, replace hearts, transplant organs, etc etc... Osmolarity, dissolved solutes/salts, water balance... these aren't abstract concepts.

People were more content with their lives in the years leading up to the 1940's